Wearers of hearing aids undergo a process called “fitting” to adjust the hearing aids to their particular hearing and use. After the hearing aids are in use, it can be difficult for a wearer of them to determine whether they are functioning properly. Hearing-impaired (HI) listeners fitted with two hearing aids often do not realize when one of their devices is no longer functioning. Device failure due to dead batteries or due to failure of electro-mechanical components can go undetected for hours and occasionally for days. The failure to detect failure of one device is in part due to lack of experience with hearing-aid wear, but it is probably also due to the relatively minor benefit provided by the second hearing aid in typical quiet environments that are sought and experienced by HI listeners. The consequence of not detecting the failure of one of the aids is that the user may experience difficulty functioning in complex environments where the bilateral fitting truly provides crucial benefits. Listeners may suffer this compromised experience for an indeterminate period of time before the failure is identified.
Thus, there is a need in the art for a system for improved determination of hearing aid failures. Such a system should be easy for the wearer to use and should prevent inconvenient and unnecessary trips to the dispenser or audiologist that fitted the hearing aids. The system should allow for inexpensive and convenient implementation for hearing aid wearers.